The Urban Sketching Handbook 101 Sketching Tips: Tricks, Techniques, and Handy Hacks for Sketching on the Go (Volume 8) (Urban Sketching Handbooks, 8)

Pocket size book with an amazing information about urban sketching

The Urban Sketching Handbook series is flat out the best and most encyclopedic reference for anyone sketching, drawing, or painting on location. The latest title to join the series, Stephanie Bower’s 101 Sketching Tips doesn’t disappoint either. First off, ignore the title because Bower shares far more than 101 tips and strategies. Illustrations from Urban Sketchers hailing from every point on the globe are included to help readers clearly visualize the concepts being shared, including many of Bower’s own fine sketches.

As a professional illustrator and a visual art educator for four decades, I have seen a lot of books offering advice; only a few of them have measured up to the hype. Happily, this is one of them. What I really appreciate about this book is the way it’s organized into “Keys” – groups of concepts that are related. Thumbing through the book, there are (naturally enough) strategies with many readers will already be familiar. I regularly found myself reading a tip and thinking to myself, “Oh, right! Why haven’t I tried that in a while?” Being reminded of things we already know (but don’t always put into practice!) is a really good thing. And then there are those brand new ideas that I feel like smacking myself in the head over: “Now why the heck did I never think of doing things THAT way?” There are plenty of gold nuggets sprinkled throughout, and enough to make this a valuable resource for most any artist working in situ.

For those who like to carry stuff with them into the field, I also find the books in this series to be really handy in that one will easily fit into the hip pocket of my Levi’s!

Très illustré. Écrit par une spécialiste du domaine. C’est une aide efficace par le nombre et la diversité des exemples présentés. Certains sujets sont abordés légèrement (p.ex. la perspective) mais un exposé plus approfondi est disponible dans d’autres ouvrages de la collection. Ceci est vraiment une référence tous azimuths.

Sono una principiante dello urban sketching, anche se ho studiato disegno a scuola con un prof di architettura ed ho buone basi. Ho trovato il libro pieno di ottimi spunti di riflessione, e sono certa che continuerò a rileggerlo tante volte, perché i suggerimenti sono veramente tanti e si apprezzano solo mettendoli a poco a poco in pratica. Lo consiglio!

I love Stephanie’s work and have had the pleasure of participating in her “Good Bones” workshop in San Antonio, so I was excited for the release of this book. If I’m being generous, I’d describe myself as an intermediate sketcher. I’ve dabbled in urban sketching for several years, although most of the time I still feel like a beginner.

So, for me, this book is a pretty comprehensive list of what many urban sketchers think about or should think about. It’s probably not a book for a beginner who has just opened a brand-new sketch book to the first blank page, because it’s not step-by-step, detailed instruction; rather, it’s tips. It’s for someone who has done some sketching and is starting to have questions like, why does one side of my building look crooked? why do my trees look cartoony? and, really, how should I start a sketch? You can read straight through to find these answers or skip around. Reading cover-to-cover may be overwhelming, because there’s a lot here. Personally, I’m trying to focus on one question at a time and saving the rest for later.

Stephanie is a thoughtful and encouraging teacher who is especially talented at simplifying puzzling concepts. She is an architect, and she loves perspective, so this book does lean into that. Her other book in this series, Understanding Perspective, is completely the more in-depth version of that material. Here, she steps back a bit and gives you basic tips on perspective for a good jump-start into making your buildings believable and fills the rest of the book with tips on other topics like composition, paint, the spirit of sketching, etc.

Believable structures are usually a primary concern for urban sketchers, since we’re often sketching in structure-filled environments. However, urban sketching is different for everyone. If your interest is primarily documenting people or the natural environment, you may want a different book. For an urban sketching guidebook that’s oriented toward buildings, this book’s content is right on point and well-balanced. That said, I really think everyone will find valuable information and inspiration here.

The book contains many examples of Stephanie’s work, and, aligning with the approach of other books in this series, she also explains her points through sketches from other experienced urban sketchers who work in a variety of styles and media. Stephanie works in pencil and wash, and most of the other examples in the book are traditional ink and wash, but ProCreate on an iPad is also represented.

As a side note, I find it odd that one reviewer complained about the lack of examples by female artists in the book. First, I’ve never observed or considered any sort of gender bias in urban sketching, only massive amounts of amazing work by extremely talented artists, so who cares (I’m a woman, btw); and second, refer to the list of contributors in the back.